All posts tagged Wildlife

Winter Wildlife

By On November 13, 2009 In Wildlife, Winter With No Comments Permanent Link to Winter WildlifePermalink

Even though Christmas is just around the corner don’t forget to spare a thought for our wildlife, in fact Christmas could be the ideal time to help. You know what it’s like when someone asks you ‘what would you like for Christmas?’ and you reply ‘oh, I don’t know’ because you feel embarrassed and don’t like asking for anything, or maybe you don’t need anything. Well, this year why not say, ‘how about something for the garden wildlife!’ How about a bird table or nesting box; a bat box or hedgehog house; or even a bumblebee box?

You could ask for a bird feeder or bird seed and nuts or even a supply of fat balls to keep the birds fed all winter. You could ask for a pair of binoculars to watch them. You don’t have to be a professional twitcher to enjoy your own garden visitors, I use mine out of my kitchen window most of the time. So please keep feeding the birds this winter as they need a break, summer was very cruel to them and with all the rain thousands of babies got wet and died. Let’s hope 2008 will be kinder to all our wildlife.

hedgehog

Please still keep a look out for small hedgehogs they may not be able to survive hibernation. If you are not sure give me a call. I already have 7 juveniles to over-winter; they will be kept until spring and then released. If you would like to help you can always donate a tin of cat or dog food; they can be dropped of at Locke and Preston Vets on the Strand, Bude.

Like any wildlife enthusiast, I love finding wildlife in my garden and still get a thrill finding large warty toads or slippery slow worms when gardening and you don’t have to spend lots of money making homes for all these creatures. Some habitats are quiet easy to make. An old whole paving slab could provide a hibernation site for amphibians. Scoop out some earth under the centre of the slab and make a tunnel to the outside of it so the slab ends up hiding a cave with a secret entrance.

Old rabbit hutches can also be turned into a hedgehog house. Thoroughly clean out and disinfect the hutch and make sure it is totally dry before putting anything in it Some clean dry straw can be added, not too much as you want the hedgehog to do the work and make their home the way they want it. Most hutches have a bed area and small run. The door to the run could be removed, leaving the other door as that will create a nice cosy bedroom. Then hide the hutch in a sheltered spot in your garden facing away of the preverbal winds. Then it’s simply a case of sitting back and waiting for a prickly friend to take up residence.

How about making a New Years Resolution: to make your garden more wildlife friendly:

  • Put up a bird or bat box
  • Get a bird table or bird bath
  • Build a woodpile or compost heap
  • Make a wildlife pond
  • Plant fruiting shrubs that provide food
  • Plant trees or wild flowers
  • Whatever you decide to do enjoy your garden and help our wildlife.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR
TO YOU AND ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

Summertime Wildlife

By On November 2, 2009 In Summertime With No Comments Permanent Link to Summertime WildlifePermalink

Rabbits are among our most familiar and endearing mammals, active in broad daylight and often present in large numbers. They were bought to Britain about 900 years ago by the Normans, being introduced for their fur and meat. They were kept in special enclosures called ‘warrens’ from which, inevitably some escaped and began living wild. Rabbits begin mating as early as January and continue throughout the summer, the early babies themselves able to breed in the same year. The escaped rabbits bred profusely and they were regarded as pests. Many were trapped or shot but still the numbers increased.
You may have had the pleasure of seeing wild rabbits playing in a field, or unlucky enough to see very sickly one with swollen eyes, almost blind, running around aimlessly.

THRUSH1

This is because of the disgusting Myxoma virus that was deliberately introduced to Britain in 1953. It is now known as myxomatosis. It wiped out 99% of the rabbit population and unfortunately it is still around today. I have seen many this year that have had to be humanely destroyed.  Once infected the animal’s eyes become swollen and inflamed.  Within four days the animal will be blind, becoming disoriented and unable to feed properly. It will almost certainly die by the 10th day. This does not only affect wild rabbits; if you have pet rabbits they can be infected, as the disease is spread by fleas. If you have wild rabbits near your garden you can protect your pet rabbits by having them vaccinated against the virus, just ask your vet. It is just a shame we can’t protect the wild ones as well.

Baby Birds

You may have seen many gardens birds with beaks full of insects or worms just like this Blackbird. He and his partner have a nest in the hedge in our garden. They are feeding non stop during the day and are just amazing to watch; they must be exhausted by the end of the day. I have also seen some interest in our new blue tit box: we will just have to wait and see if it is used this summer.

Talking of baby birds, if you do come across babies on your lawn, please do not touch them unless they are in immediate danger (from say a cat) Trying to hand rear young fledglings is extremely difficult and often unsuccessful. If you can make the area safe for them they will have a much better chance of surviving as the parents will still feed them for many days. The babies will leave the nest before they are ready to fly and still rely on parents to feed them. You may have seen young sparrows all fluffed up still wanting mum to feed them even when they are capable of feeding themselves.

My husband Barry and I went to help three green finches that had fallen from their nest onto the concrete edge of an empty swimming pool. On further inspection the owner spotted another in the swimming pool; luckily in the shallow end, the deep end had about five inches of water from the heavy rain we have just had. More than enough to drown a little bird. After a short search we found the nest, but on trying to put the babies back found they just fluttered out again. The whole garden is a wildlife haven but they had to find the only dangerous bit.  The tree only just overhung the wall that separated lots of shrubs and a perfect wildlife habitat from the concrete swimming pool, so we just popped them over the wall to safety. We and the owner were so pleased to see the parents watching our every move and I am sure they will carry on feeding them. If we are lucky we should also start seeing young hedgehogs out and about now. Remember: no bread and milk, but cat and dog food. Please make sure there is fresh water for all our garden wildlife.

Have a happy summer.